Smith: Sandhill crane study committee supports one draft bill, opposes another and doesn't vote on third

A legislative study committee on Tuesday voted in favor of a draft bill that would both authorize sandhill crane hunting in Wisconsin and provide funding to farmers for a seed treatment designed to reduce crane-caused crop losses.

However, it voted against the same agricultural support in a stand-alone proposal.

And based on the wishes of its chairman, Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), the group didn't even vote on a draft bill solely on crane hunting.

The actions were part of the fifth and final meeting of the Legislative Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes.

The committee was charged with examining sandhill population trends and to "determine whether any changes to state law would effectively address the incidence and consequences of crop damage caused by sandhill cranes in this state," according to its description.

As part of its "comprehensive review of policy options, the committee may consider whether the Department of Natural Resources should seek federal approval to establish a hunting season for sandhill cranes."

The group included Tittl and three other legislators, Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Cameron), Rep. Dave Considine (D-Baraboo) and Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), as well as eight public members, including representatives of conservation and farming organizations.

Legislative study committees are held every two years on a handful of topics. After examining an issue, the committees typically forward one or more draft bills for possible introduction in the Legislature.

Sandhill cranes were once threatened in Wisconsin but have recovered in recent decades. Wisconsin hosted an average of 51,000 sandhills from 2018-22, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The increased number of cranes has led to crop damage issues on Wisconsin farms. In 2023 there was an estimated $1.97 million in crane-caused crop damage in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services. Slightly more than half occurred to corn shortly after planting in spring, the balance was later in the year to potatoes and other crops.

Testimony heard over the first three meetings made it clear there would be no easy, complete solutions.

A seed treatment, commonly known by the product name Avipel, is useful to help reduce crane damage to corn in spring. But the solution includes an up-front cost to farmers and no similar strategies were offered for potatoes and other crops in summer or fall.

And while hunting is allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on sandhills in the Mississippi Flyway, the take of cranes through hunting would likely be designed to have little to no impact on the population, according to Kent Van Horn, retired DNR waterfowl ecologist who helped write the flyway's 2010 sandhill crane management plan.

Furthermore no study has shown hunting has reduced crane-caused crop damage anywhere in North America, according to literature reviews by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Ben Sedinger, assistant professor at UW-Stevens Point and a member of the sandhill study committee.

The process resulted in three draft bills for consideration at Tuesday's meeting.

The first on the agenda, LRB-0604/P3, was offered by committee member Dave Mickelson, a farmer from De Forest. The draft bill would establish a cost-share program to provide funding for the seed treatment to corn farmers. The non-toxic chemical is distasteful to cranes, according to the manufacturer.

The proposal included $1.875 million of general purpose revenue in fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27. Combined with a 50% cost share, the state funding would reimburse producers for seed treatment covering 300,000 acres of corn, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council estimate.

However the measure was defeated on a 7-5 vote, revealing a theme that would dominate the meeting.

The two Republican members were joined in opposing the measure by the pro-crane hunting voting block Tittl assembled when he selected the committee's public members. In addition to Tittl and Quinn, it included: Rick Gehrke, farmer and board member of Wisconsin Corn Growers Association; Tamas Houlihan, Antigo, executive director of Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association; Todd Schaller, vice president of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association; UWSP's Sedinger; and Paul Wait, Delta Waterfowl senior manager of communications.

The corn and potato growers associations, Delta Waterfowl and WWA all registered in favor of a 2021 sandhill crane hunting bill.

All seven of the committee members voted the same way on each issue considered Tuesday, including whether to enter into the record contentious documents submitted by Tittl.

The minority of the committee included the Democratic legislators Considine and Spreitzer as well as Meleesa Johnson, executive director of Wisconsin's Green Fire and Anne Lacy, director of Eastern Flyway programs for the International Crane Foundation.

Records from the Wisconsin Legislative Council show Tittl rejected applications for the committee from seven people or representatives of organizations likely against crane hunting (including the Wisconsin chapter of the Sierra Club and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance) and just two likely in favor (including the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation).

However it is the prerogative of the committee chair and Legislative leadership to set the committee membership. In this case, Tittl, who authored the 2021 crane hunting bill, as well as lobbyists for and leaders of the WWA and agriculture groups, sought to have the committee structured to support a crane hunting bill.

The majority chose a combination bill (LRB-0591/P4) that would include both the seed treatment proposal (LRB-0604/P3) with a sandhill crane hunting bill (LRB-0815/P1).

Quinn said in his Republican caucus there is mixed support on issues of sandhill crane management. He thought the bundled legislation would have the best chance to make it through the GOP-controlled Legislature and budget-writing committee.

"I really think the combined bill tries to find that balance with all of our constituencies that we have to represent," Quinn said.

The vote on LRB-0591/P4 was 8-4, with Mickelson (who authored the stand-alone seed treatment bill) joining the majority block.

The crane hunting portion of the bill would raise the price of agricultural damage surcharge on all hunting licenses in the state, not just crane hunting licenses. The surcharge would increase at least $1 on all licenses, raising an estimated additional $1.3 million for the state's wildlife damage claim fund.

If crane hunting were approved in Wisconsin, farmers would be able to file claims for crane-caused crop damage.

Spreitzer said while he is a hunter he doesn't see compelling evidence to authorize a crane hunt in Wisconsin. So he polled voters in his district and 63% were opposed, 18% were in support and 18% didn't answer.

"For all that we've heard, there are things that point one way, things that point another," Spreitzer said. "And my constituents don't want one."

In the only social science work on the issue in Wisconsin, a 2023 study by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center found 17.6% of its panel of state residents supported crane hunting while 47.6% opposed it and 35% were neutral.

Spreitzer lamented the fact the committee couldn't form consensus on any issue, even a farmer support bill.

Tittl opted to not even hold a vote on the stand-alone crane hunting bill (LRB-0815/P1).

"I don't think it would be necessary to take up the hunt bill alone without helping the farmers," Tittl said.

The combination bill supported by the committee will be advanced to the Joint Legislative Council for consideration. If it receives support there as is customary, it would be advanced to the Legislature, likely in mid- to late spring.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin sandhill crane study committee votes on draft bills